


Fluff

by LanternJawedStudmuffin



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animals, Cats Making Mischief, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Friendship/Love, KH Secret Santa 2015, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 07:45:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5531450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LanternJawedStudmuffin/pseuds/LanternJawedStudmuffin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the KH Secret Santa gift exchange! Merry Christmas, latexkaktus!</p><p>Terra doesn't have a great deal of friends, and he wouldn't have thought the best way to make one was to kidnap... Er, cat-nap someone's pet. As it turns out, maybe that's the best way to find a family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fluff

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas to our Secret Santa, [latexkaktus!](http://latexkaktus.tumblr.com/)
> 
> We've posted this fic on our tumblr, and are also posting it here - Muffin finds the AO3 format easier to read, so in case you do too, it might as well be posted!
> 
> As a note to any of our other readers, if you don't follow our tumblr, we announced a brief hiatus on our other fics. More information can be found at lanternjawedstudmuffin.tumblr.com.
> 
> Hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!

If Terra had to choose, he probably would've said he was a dog person. It was nothing against cats; dogs were more active, more loyal, and more likely to serve as a workout buddy. That was as far as Terra understood it, anyway. He'd never owned a pet of any kind, so all his ideas on the subject were based on the stereotypes applied to both.

Cats  _were_  small, though, and he was... big. If he had a cat, he'd be afraid of accidentally stepping on it or crushing it somehow. What if it was napping in the spot he usually put his gym bag on a weight day? He could get careless and pelt an innocent animal with a dumbbell. No  _way_.

All said, Terra was not actually considering any type of pet. He was on his morning run, autumn air crisp and early morning sun cheerily climbing above puffy clouds. There wasn't much in his head, at all – running was his equivalent of meditation, more rejuvenating than sleep and with an actual goal in mind. He usually jogged all the way to his favorite little diner to catch their early bird schedule (for a very affordable 4.99), wolfed it down with a big glass of water, and then jogged back to the makeshift duplex he shared. Terra would go in through the back to access the kitchen, make himself a vitamin-packed smoothie, and get on with the day from there.

His feet clapped a jaunty beat against the pavement on his way around the house, and something in his backyard dashed across his path and straight up into a tree.

The tree was also his. It took up nearly a quarter of the backyard. Less, after he and Aqua trimmed some of the branches, put up a birdhouse, installed some hedges to compete with the damn thing for water. It  _did_  attract the odd squirrel, but the tiny creature that'd run for the hills and found a tree instead was at least twice that size and didn't blend nearly as well.

With enormous eyes, the fluffiest white cat Terra had ever seen clung onto a branch and stared down at him. Terra stared back.

Their backyard wasn't  _fenced_ , so... it seemed obvious how the cat had gotten there. Must've just wandered away from home. Cats could get  _down_  from trees... right?

Terra decided that they probably could, and took another step forward. The cat's ears went flat, and it looked like it was about to run higher up.

... Even if they  _could_  climb down, it seemed a bit mean to send the cat running. It'd be more difficult to get back down, wouldn't it? With a sigh, Terra retracted his step, and carefully backed up to go around instead. He'd just walk in through the front, no big deal.

The cat watched him as he went, clutching the branch like it intended to make itself at home there forever.

Unlocking the front door, Terra bent down to unlace his running shoes and exhaled, still quite content. The staircase led up to Aqua's half of the house; really, they shared the kitchen and the shoe mat, but they otherwise had their own space. Aqua's shoes weren't there, so she'd likely already gone out to start her day. Despite the incredibly early hour, it didn't even occur to Terra that she might still be sleeping. Aqua  _never_  slept in, so he knew better.

He strolled over to the kitchen, whistling (not well) and going to start on his smoothie.

The cat outside remained hunched and wild-eyed, visible from the window over the sink. Terra paused.

It could...  _probably_  get down. But, would it? He'd clearly put the fear of god into it, the poor thing seemed absolutely frozen in terror. Maybe if he'd approached slower, or less like a solid wall of potential predator.

... Pretty tiny cat, too. It was hard to tell, from where he was, but the longer he looked, the more certain he was that it was undersized. Hesitating by the window, Terra slowly turned to put protein powder into the milk-and-water mix he had going.

Cats liked milk, didn't they? Or was that a myth?

He found himself considering his cupboard as he tossed some fruit in, cranked up the blender's setting, and commenced demolishing the ingredients into something smooth and drinkable. Maybe not water or milk, but he had  _some_  things he was sure cats liked. There were a couple of cans of tuna, unopened...

Just to lure the poor creature out of the tree, he'd sacrifice some of it. He was more guilty than he would've expected to be over startling a random cat. He switched off the blender and let his smoothie sit for the time being, grabbing a dish and his can opener.

He figured two spoonfuls was plenty. Slipping on some sandals, he unlocked the door and stepped outside carefully.

The cat wriggled, like it was trying to crawl backwards towards the trunk of the tree. Message received: he had to keep his distance. Still, he wanted the tuna to be suitably tempting...

Terra put the plate down gently on the walkway only a few paces from the doorstep. It wasn't really all that close, but cats had powerful noses, didn't they? Or... Hm, maybe  _that_  was dog trivia.

Backing away, he re-entered his house and started to pack the tuna back up to put in the fridge. He'd have to finish off the can, later... That decided his lunch plans. Smoothie while he did some chores around the house, break for a quick workout, then he'd make a sandwich, shower...

Then, check on the cat before he left for the dojo.

Day commenced and plans mentally mapped, Terra poured his smoothie out into a 24 ounce tumbler, rinsed the blender out to put aside for washing, and tackled the day.

When he checked out the backyard just before noon, the plate was empty, and the cat was gone.

 

* * *

 

Deja vu wasn't a common experience for Terra, but running up to his backyard to find a skittish cat sure did give him that sense. Baffled, he stared at the big blue feline eyes, and the cat stared back.

This time, it was balled up by his back step and ready to spring. Terra didn't think cats were aggressive, but he still had the jarring image of approaching his own house and being clawed to pieces, so he thought it might be smarter to go around and walk in through the front. It was unlikely he'd be hurt by it, or anything, but...

Even if the cat was coiled to run rather than attack, he didn't have the heart to spook it. Once was one time too many. It had actually weighed on him all day and he'd gone to bed feeling like an overgrown monster. If only he had a  _vibe_  that would let all animals know that he was no danger to them. They were innocent, pure-intentioned things, and he would sooner be a friend to all than deliberately frighten one.

Cats still weren't his favorite creature of all time, or anything, but it was a simple matter to not disturb it. Terra walked around to the front door.

He'd started on an egg-white smoothie when he caught a glimpse of white tuft, by the glass door. The cat had slunk out and remained pretty close to the ground, apparently sniffing around for a plate. Its white fur was a little mottled, dingy and dusty in strange patches. Terra frowned.

It seemed odd that the cat would come  _back_  to a place it had nearly been scared off from... So, was it hungry? Terra had no experience telling apart a domestic cat from a stray, so maybe it had been wandering around the neighborhood, looking for something to hunt... Their backyard likely  _was_  a good ground for it. Birds and squirrels, what more could a predator want?

To save the squirrels, then, he’d help it out again.

After a quick search on his phone, Terra gently ladled the egg yolks out of their shells and onto a new plate. He didn't have a use for them, and it seemed a shame to just toss food. The Internet said that cats could eat raw yolk, so... Hopefully, they would be good enough. They were no can of tuna, but hey.

Terra opened the door as quietly as he could and trod lightly, setting the plate down on the back step. The cat stared at him, eyes big and nose twitching, until he backed off into the house again. Out of curiosity, he kept the door open and lingered there, just to observe.

The cat was quick to slink forward, starting to lap at the yolk with an eagerness that surprised him. It seemed intent on clearing the plate completely, and out of consideration, Terra attempted not to disturb its meal. He carefully sank to his knees, sitting back and watching. Trace amounts of bright yellow stuck to the cat's muzzle, despite its best efforts.

When the plate was just about clear, the cat sat back and began licking its paw, meticulously cleaning its face. Terra smiled.

The day after, Terra only had leftover chicken to provide. By the fourth day, he'd clued in and bought some cans of cat food.

Before he knew it, Terra had flawlessly incorporated his stray feline friend into his mornings. He only ever went around to the front door (which was a little more running, anyway, and he  _always_  welcomed more activity) and then promptly went to the kitchen to scoop the contents of a tiny cat food can into a dish. He'd open the back door – more often than not, the cat was already there – and start making his smoothie.

He'd discovered she was a girl cat when she started coming inside and rubbing up against his legs. After she'd been petted enough, she'd allow Terra to pick her up, and (after another quick Internet search) he'd checked. She was surprisingly demanding when it came to affection, but after she'd eaten and gotten all the snuggles she wanted, she'd trot away to find a spot to curl up and sleep for hours. Sometimes on the vent by the back door, sometimes wedged between the living room couch and the wall, sometimes under Terra's bed.

Either way, eventually she would wake up and paw at the back door again, and he'd let her out before going to work. Every so often, he had to ask Aqua to do it because the cat hadn't woken up yet and he needed to be on his way. Of course, waking her before she was ready was unforgivable.

No matter how exasperated she might be about it, Aqua still did him the favor. She wasn’t discouraging his bit of charity, exactly, but she did occasionally give him that  _look_  when the cat was around - the one that told him she knew exactly what Terra was thinking before he knew it, himself. But it allowed the cycle to continue, and eventually, inevitably, Terra found himself thinking on a name for the tiny thing.

Aurora. She was definitely an Aurora.

Autumn soldiered on into the cold, and it was only a matter of time before Terra jogged through a thin layer of snow on his calisthenic journey. Little flakes of frost drifted down onto his sweatshirt and into his hair, dotting his lashes with white specks, as he caught his visible breath and unlocked his front door.

Snow was the first variation in his routine, and one he hadn't accounted for. Without much thought, Terra untied his shoes, then went to the kitchen to get himself a refill on his water bottle, first. He hadn't set out the dish, yet. Why would he?

He diverted course with wide eyes, rushing to the glass door when he glimpsed big blue eyes and a tiny open mouth. That cat was all white fluff (she weighed almost nothing, he discovered; all that mass was  _fur_ ) and practically invisible in only an inch's worth of snow. He couldn't hear her mews through the glass, but he could tell she was practically screaming at the back door. A smattering of dainty paw prints cut a direct path through the backyard, but the step was clearer of snow, stamped down and rolled over.

Rearing up, her little pink paws made wet smudges against the glass. Terra unlocked it quickly.

“You must be  _freezing_...”

Her cries, high-pitched and kittenish, got frantic as the door was opened. She streaked inside the instant it was wide enough, her tail dragging and tracking moisture across the kitchen.

She had to have been out there a while. Amazing, how one little creature could perpetuate so much guilt.

“You're okay,” he tried to reassure her, closing the door. Why he spoke to a cat as though it could understand him, Terra did not know. “I'll go turn on the heater...”

She'd paused about ten feet inside, getting settled in the hallway and lifting up a leg to clean. Terra stepped over her to turn up the thermostat.

“Bet you're hungry, too...”

“She's here, then?” There were footsteps on the stairs, and Aqua was on her way down in her sports bra and shorts. Probably just finishing up her own workout, Terra surmised.

“Yeah...” Distractedly, he finished adjusting the temperature. Didn't need to be a lot warmer. He just wanted to kick-start the heat.

He stepped over Aurora on his way back to the kitchen, who stopped enthusiastically licking her leg to race past him to the food dish. Aqua brought up the rear of the procession, going to lean against the counter and observe the state of their kitchen with some concern.

“Oh wow, she's  _soaked_.”

“I'm a little worried about the snow...” Terra grabbed a tiny can, pulling the metal tab. The cat lifted herself onto her back paws to impatiently bat at his leg. “I don't think it'll be good for her to wander.”

“So, what are you saying?” He’d known Aqua so long he could  _hear_  the look, too.

It was something he'd been thinking about, on and off, for about one of the three weeks since he'd started feeding this cat. It seemed a bit silly, going to such lengths to make sure she was let out in time for everyone to go to work...

“I'm saying... It might be nice to just keep her inside?”

As he knelt down to put the food in the bowl, the cat darted forward and started devouring the contents like it'd been ages since her last meal. If nothing else, Terra doubted that she'd eaten anything since yesterday morning, when she stopped in last.

Aqua raised her eyebrows. “You're gonna make her an indoor cat?”

“You think it's a bad idea?”

Folding her arms on the counter, Aqua fixed her eyes at the same point as Terra’s - the little white head almost hidden inside the dish and bobbing feverishly.

“I'm not saying you shouldn't take in a stray cat, but do you know for sure she's a stray?”

Terra rinsed out the can, privately a little defensive of his idea. “She's here every morning.”

“She could be coming from someone else's house and going back in the evening,” Aqua, ever the voice of reason, countered.

Already, the cat had torn her way through the food and was turning away from the empty dish, licking her chops. As though the evidence spoke for itself, Terra gestured at her.

“Would she really be this hungry?”

Aqua hesitated, honestly ruminating. “... Well, I don't know that much about cats...”

Aurora was padding out of the kitchen with both head and tail held high.

“And she doesn't have a collar.”

“I guess, but I don't think that many people put collars on their cats.”

“Really?” Terra frowned, but started to shake his head. “I still think she's a stray...”

The two of them followed her into the living room, and Aqua was unsurprised to see Aurora stretching out in front of the heater.

Aqua didn’t hate the idea of having a pet around. She’d never had one before, and this cat was in the house so often, she seemed at least half theirs, already. Still, it all felt so impulsive - taking in an animal from who-knew where, with no plan or knowledge of how to care for it. And she knew from years of experience how flawed Terra’s judgement could be, on impulse decisions.

“You  _do_  already buy food for her...” she rationalized, still with that pensive look on her face. Terra watched the cat fondly as she yawned, legs stretching.

“I figured out where I'd put a litter box.”

“So you've planned this,” Aqua shot him a grin.

“I thought about it a few times,” he admitted.

He could see it in Aqua's face, that she was starting to break, but he didn't dare push it. He waited for her to come to a conclusion on her own.

Aurora, legs still stretched long, spread her front paws until all ten little pink toes were visible. Aqua didn’t stand a chance.

“... Fine, we can keep her,” she proclaimed, and he grinned broadly.

“You won't regret it.” Sinking down beside Aurora, Terra stroked her from head to tail, making her trill and roll onto her front. Aqua watched with a tiny sigh of defeat, though she couldn't honestly claim to be upset with the decision.

Having a pet around might actually be pretty nice.

“I've got to get ready for work,” she declared, doing her best not to seem flustered by this sudden decision.

“Yeah...” Terra was absorbed in giving Aurora a chin rub. Her head tilted into his fingers, eyes closing and starting to purr. “I might go out when you do, to pick up some things for her.”

“I'll just be a couple minutes,” Aqua promised, amused, and gravitated back towards the stairs.

“Sure.” Terra barely heard that. He was way too absorbed in kitty-purrs.

Aurora climbed into his lap and curled up into a warm, vibrating puffball. She left a dusting of white hairs in her wake, but he had a hard time caring. Terra was completely happy with this situation.

“What do you think, Aurora? Would you want to live here?”

She just continued to purr. He took that as a 'yes'.

Unfortunately, since she was in his lap, he was never allowed to move again unless she did it first. He might have to hold off on buying a litter box.

But he  _would_  get one. A litter box, some cat toys, and more food...

Terra's heart sang with affection for this little cat, and she purred in comfortable contentment.

 

* * *

 

Aurora became both beloved pet and workout partner, over the course of a mere three days. She'd mastered the art of staying as motionless as possible while her human-bed moved, curled up on Terra's mid-back as he did an apparently endless amount of push-ups. She dozed, he worked. It was an arrangement that suited them both.

“Terra?”

From the living room, he could hear Aqua unlock the front door and come in practically a few feet away. Regardless, he didn't stop. He was on a roll.

Aqua had sighed herself out on her way up to her home, a sheet of paper in her hand. She'd torn it off a telephone pole, and was kind of dreading having to bring it to Terra's attention.

“Hey, Terra... I've got some bad -” She had to pause at the spectacle man-and-cat made.

“Hey,” he greeted, pushing himself up and missing half her words completely. “I'd stop, but I'm not done my set.”

She put down her keys, took off her shoes, and approached. Terra was a little red-faced with exertion and going very slow, pushing his endurance as much as possible. Crouching down beside him, Aqua swallowed a bit of sympathetic dread and held out the poster.

“You need to see this now.”

“Huh?” Terra stopped, glancing at the poster. Then he snatched it up with one arm, the other keeping himself aloft, and he read:

'LOST!! PLEASE HELP!!!'

The text took up most of the poster. The rest of it was a very large picture of a white, fluffy cat.

Terra's eyes grew wide and his heart sank, slowly moving to sit up. Balance disturbed, Aurora hopped down off his back with an indignant flick of her tail.

Crammed into the bottom of the poster was a phone number, the name 'Ven', and another pleading message about how much their cat was missed.

“... I'm really sorry,” Aqua said softly. Despondent, Terra tried to shake his head.

“You were right... Of course she has an owner.”

Aurora made her way around and apparently decided to forgive him, putting one paw on Terra's thigh and batting his chest with the other. Terra promptly pet her, eyes downcast.

“We should call them right away,” Aqua prodded him, but sounded positively aggrieved, knowing how much this had to be hurting Terra. In truth, she was let down, too... but not surprised. “They seem pretty upset...”

“I'll call,” Terra confirmed morosely. Aurora tilted her head, butting it against his hand and starting to purr. With a pang, he rubbed under her chin the way she liked, and Aurora nuzzled him so vigorously that she fell over onto her side.

“... I'll get your phone,” Aqua started to get up. His eyes were still on the cat. She didn't think he'd actually have the will to go grab it.

“Thanks...”

Aurora was on her feet again quickly, pacing around Terra and rubbing her side up against him. He pet her in long, full strokes, and tried to stamp down his grief as it grew.

A small, petty part of him wanted to just... keep her.

Aqua picked up the paper with Terra's phone in hand, punching in the number for him while he pet the cat. Her hindquarters lifted with each full stroke.

... He had to call, it wasn't right to keep her. Whoever 'Ven' was, they had to be missing her  _terribly_. Terra knew he would.

As soon as he was handed the phone, he hit the button to call and quickly fell into brooding as it rang. Aqua sat back, wrapping her arms around her knees, and Aurora snuggled Terra's offered hand and leg.

Terra didn't actually have to wait very long. It was picked up on the second ring, and an anxious voice greeted, “ _Hello?”_

He couldn't help sounding a bit crushed. “Is this Ven?”

“ _Yeah, um, this is Ven. I'm Ven.”_  The words came out in a rush, the person on the other line jittery with hope and worry.

“Hi... I'm calling about the poster,” he glanced down at Aurora. “Your cat's okay, she's been staying with me for a couple of days...”

He felt... awful. Not only about losing her, but now for putting this stranger through so much fear. He'd accidentally  _kidnapped_  his cat. He felt like the worst person in the world.

“ _Oh my god, thank you so much for calling. I was so worried something happened to her...”_  Ven practically gushed, relieved but still on the brink of tears, from the sounds of it.

“I'm sorry...” Terra went quieter. “It was all my fault. I thought she was a stray...”

“ _It's okay – if it means someone was looking after her, then I'm glad.”_

“I can drop her off, if you want,” Terra offered, a little pained.

“ _Oh, no, I don't want to make you go to any more trouble. I can come pick her up.”_

“Alright... Is this a cell phone? I can text you my address.”

“ _Oh. Yeah, that'd be great!”_

Absently, Aqua scratched behind the cat's ears and observed. Terra looked distraught, but there was definite acceptance there. She bit her lip sympathetically.

“I'll do that, then. I guess... I'll probably see you pretty soon...”

“ _Great! Thank you again!”_

“No problem...” Despairing, Terra hung up the phone to send the address. Aqua gave a bracing pat to his shoulder.

“You did the right thing.”

“... I know.” He miserably resumed petting 'Aurora'. She undoubtedly had another name. A real one.

“And she'll be happiest with her family,” Aqua seemed remorseful even as she said it.

“... It feels too soon to just give her up,” Terra muttered.

“But she's not ours.”

Oblivious, the cat trilled happily.

“... It felt like she was...”

Aqua could hardly remember seeing her best friend so crushed. Disappointment and frustration were all part of life, but now that she thought of it, Terra had never gone through any real  _loss_  in all the time she’d known him. The practical part of her wanted to point out the bigger picture - that he’d only known this cat a few weeks, only spent a couple of days thinking she was theirs, and after a while he’d see how short that time really was. But at the moment practicality was fighting a losing battle with her heart that ached for Terra’s pain, and the thought of those expensive gourmet cat treats she’d ordered in secret only yesterday.

She had to say something comforting.

“... Maybe this doesn't have to be goodbye forever.”

Terra glanced up at her. “You think we could ask to visit? That wouldn't be weird, would it?”

“It would be up to the owner, obviously,” Aqua cautioned before Terra's hopes got too high, “but you were upfront the whole time about the misunderstanding, so they might be more open to some kind of reward.”

A bit of hope was renewed through the mass of disappointment. “It's worth asking.”

“The worst they can say is no, right?”

Aurora climbed over Terra's lap and made a pointed suggestion with her nose against his palm. Promptly, he started to pet her, and sat there for the next fifteen minutes doing so.

In that fifteen minutes, Ventus had looked up the address, bundled himself against the cold, and practically sprinted the whole way with a cat carrier swinging from his arm. He'd equipped it pretty well, he hoped, with a blanket and a package of treats. The address in his other hand, Ven still checked it three times before knocking on the door, catching his breath as best he could.

Within that time, Terra had spiraled down into anguish. He was progressively more miserable over the idea of not having her to rest on his head when he was trying to sleep, or winding around his ankles when he went to feed her...

He was going to miss her. A lot.

She tried to leap away at the sound of the door, and Terra carefully scooped her into his arms.

“Hey, little princess...” he whispered to her. “I wish you could stay...”

“I'll get it,” Aqua hastened to the door. “You make sure she doesn't take off and hide.”

Aurora made a sound of distinct distress. This obviously wasn't a good time to be held still, in her books. Regardless, Terra kept a good hold on her, and Aqua opened the door.

“Hi. You're Ven, right?”

He brightened in relief, putting his phone back in his pocket. “Well, technically Ventus, but you can call me Ven.”

She nodded. “I'm Aqua, and my housemate Terra has her in the living room right now.”

Ven had started to crane his neck a little. “Oh, okay. Can I come in, then?”

“Yes, of course.” She stood aside, waving an arm to urge him inside. Ven stepped in, trying to knock some of the snow clumped on his boots before tracking it inside. There was a very pitiful, squeaky mew from the other room, and Ven perked up instantly. The boots almost stayed on his feet, in his charge.

In an attempt to placate her, Terra was scratching under the cat's chin, but switched to stroking her head. “Sorry, Aurora...”

“Snowy!”

Ven barreled in, his smile huge, and for a second Terra was kind of indignant that he'd named his cat something as unimaginative as 'Snowy'. Then he actually laid eyes on Ven, and kind of just... stopped, altogether.

His cheeks were flushed pink from the cold and he was alight with elation. Ven was  _cute_.

Aurora's claws dug in a bit, a skittish reflex to all the excitement. Conscientious, Ventus relaxed.

“Looks like you took good care of her,” he looked up at Terra. It had only been a couple of days since she’d gone missing, and it would have been hard for her to get into  _any_  kind of state, in that time... but that was of little consequence when he was just thrilled to see his cat.

“... I've, uh... I've tried to, yeah...” A little flustered, Terra couldn't quite piece together what he wanted to say.

Ven put down the carrier. “I want to give you something in return, but I wasn't sure what...”

Aqua leaned against the wall, watching their exchange carefully. There was a little bit of warning, there, that he didn't really  _need_  but still understood.

He thought Ven was cute, but didn't know how old he was. It wasn't like he'd have said anything either way, but there was an obvious message of,  _'Don't get any ideas.'_

“You don't have to... Uh, I have cat food and some litter that I can give you, too.”

“Oh,” Ven looked surprised. “Thank you, that's really nice...”

Aurora – 'Snowy', but what an awful name, Terra couldn't call her  _that_  – squirmed out of Terra's arms and onto his shoulder. He lifted a hand to let her nuzzle it, hoping she wouldn't spring from it like a flesh trampoline.

“I don't have any use for it, without her... It should go to you.” His voice lowered, embarrassed. “And it's the least I could do for accidentally borrowing your cat.”

Ven started to laugh, watching her. “I don't blame you for taking her in. She's really sweet, and she must like you... I could never get her to do that.”

“Well, Terra's pretty broad across the shoulders,” Aqua chimed in. “Lots of standing room.”

He cleared his throat a little. “I think I'm just a big cat tree, to her...”

Ven approached and started to reach up for her, coaxing. “Come on... We're gonna go home.”

Terra glanced away quickly. He was awfully close, and this whole situation was a little awkward for him. “Time to go home, Aurora...”

“Aurora?” Ven blinked.

“That's what I called her,” Terra explained.

“As in, Sleeping Beauty?”

“Yeah...”

Aqua made a small noise, almost like she was scoffing.

Ven looked blank. “You're kidding.”

“I thought it suited her,” Terra shifted to the defensive, a little, not sure if he was being teased for his choice in name.

“No, no, it's just... I named her Snow White.”

Oh. Terra's eyebrows raised. “ _Really?_ ”

“Yeah... 'cause she's all white and she sleeps all the time. Plus her meow is so high pitched...”

“Well, you're both wrong because her name is Cinderella,” Aqua, almost casually, declared with crossed arms. Ven's brow furrowed in confusion.

“Huh?”

“She is  _not_  Cinderella,” Terra shot down promptly, suddenly exasperated. “She comes by first thing in the morning and sleeps a lot, like Ven said.”

It was clearly not the first time they'd had this argument.

“Yes, but before it snowed she always came in covered with dirt on her face and paws, and she likes to sleep on the heating vents.”

“Um,” Ven interrupted slowly, “since she's my cat, I think I get to say she's Snow White.”

“... Let's all agree to disagree.” Terra said it, but privately, he was certain he'd chosen the best name for her. Ven still appeared confused, above all else.

“... Could I please take her back now?” He couldn't reach without getting much closer, and that probably crossed a boundary when Terra was someone he'd just met.

“Hang on, I've got her,” Aqua took a few steps forward and plucked the cat off Terra's shoulders. She mewed, and briefly clung to the tight t-shirt.

“Sorry about that...”

Aqua hung onto her for a moment longer, kissing the top of her head. “Be good. Get home by midnight,” she instructed, and handed her over to Ven. The cat was squirmy, by now, disliking being passed around.

“I can get her food and the litter...” Terra wrenched his eyes off her.

“Thank you,” Ven smiled despite his lingering bemusement, and carefully took her into his arms. “I've got you now, Snowy. I've got your blanket and treats for you...”

She started to yowl as she was tipped into the carrier, attempting to make herself as wide as possible to resist kitty prison. Shoulders slumped, Terra went about rounding up everything he bought for Aurora, which turned out to be quite the impressive haul.

The litter box, he'd toss. They must already have one of those. The bag of litter was massive, though, and still practically full. He had a considerable amount of cat food, an unopened tub of catnip, and a few toys (only one of which she actually played with).

“She's getting kind of heavy,” Ven noted, chewing his lower lip briefly as he set the carrier down.

Terra set down the load of stuff he was carrying, and mused falteringly, “Uh, I should probably walk back with you, to carry all this...”

In making the suggestion, he'd suddenly remembered that he was in ratty exercise clothes. Ven was looking at him, noting the threadbare patches at the knees and how thin the t-shirt was.

There was maybe the tiniest trickle of both admiration and envy, in regards to that t-shirt, actually. Not the  _shirt_ , but the contents  _of_  the shirt.

“You might be kind of chilly in just that,” Ven observed.

“Yeah... I'll go change.”

“Go ahead, I can entertain,” Aqua suggested, looking to Ven. “Can I get you anything to drink while you're here?”

“Oh, that's really nice, but I'm okay.”

“You can sit, at least,” Terra offered, turning quickly on his way to his bedroom. Ven took him up on that offer, but he didn't actually hear him. He strode to privacy quickly, shut the door, and shed his shirt immediately to take a whiff.

He grimaced, mortified.  _Fantastic_ , his first impression was one where he smelled like sweat. Terra tossed it into the laundry basket, looking around quickly. He'd refresh his deodorant, and pray that Ven hadn't really noticed... Although, how he  _couldn't_  have, that'd be one for the record books.

In the living room, Ven fell very easily into small talk. “You've got a nice house. Is it just you two living here?”

“Mhm. I've got the whole upstairs to myself,” Aqua took the spot on the couch beside him. “Terra's got most of the downstairs floor, except for the kitchen we share.”

“Oh, so you're like roommates, not...?” Ven looked surprised, and Aqua nearly laughed. She couldn't blame him for thinking it – she was used to that question.

“A couple? No. We've been friends all our lives, so of course I  _love_  Terra, and I'd do anything for him. But, he's basically my brother.”

“ _Ohh_...”

“And our tastes aren't exactly compatible,” she was casual in admitting, and thought it might even be prudent. Ven nodded in understanding.

So, at least  _one_  of them had to be gay.

Terra left his room in a clean shirt and jeans (the only pair he owned; he much preferred his hakama, but wearing those around casually sometimes got him odd looks), clearing his throat as he hovered in the living room entrance.

“I'll grab my jacket and we could go,” he spoke up, and Ven looked happy to get up. Aurora was scratching lightly at the walls of her carrier, and he undoubtedly wanted to get her back home.

“Sure,” he nodded, and lifted her up. The carrier rocked back and forth as Aurora tried to get settled inside it.

“I won't be gone long,” Terra told Aqua, who nodded.

“Okay, I think she's good to go now,” Ven announced, wrapping his arm under the carrier to stabilize it. Terra zipped his jacket, and hefted up the litter and big cloth grocery bag.

“See you, Aqua.”

“See you soon.” She had a look of mild, maternal concern, but didn't voice whatever was on her mind. He and Ven stepped outside into the snow.

“Hey... Terra, right? Can you do me a favor?”

He shut the door, counting on Aqua to lock it. “Yeah?”

“Can you pull my hat down over my ears?” Ven requested, a bit sheepish. “My hands are full.”

“Oh, sure...” He adjusted his cargo to carefully adjust the knitted hat. Ven kept as still as possible while he was at it. “... Is that better?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Ven grinned.

“No problem.” Kind of entranced by his smile, Terra adjusted his grip to carry everything properly again, and they started on their walk back.

Aurora was not impressed with being outside. Her mews were high and panicked, pushing her nose against the cage door. Ven attempted to rearrange to put a couple of fingers through the front, thinking his scent might be a comfort and cooing, “It's okay... we won't be out long...”

“... Oh, uh... By the way...”

“Yeah?”

Moment of truth. Terra couldn't think of any other time to bring it up. “I wanted to ask,” he averted his eyes. “Do you think it'd be... okay... if I visited her?”

“Like at my house?” Ven clarified, perplexed.

“Yeah. If the answer is no... I understand.” It would hurt, and he'd miss her horribly, but Terra would still understand.

“You two really bonded, huh?” Ven commented wonderingly.

“She's been coming by my house for about a month... We had a lot of time to bond.”

“Huh. I wondered why she was going out all day.”

“She always meowed for food,” Terra explained. “That's why I figured she was stray.”

“So you're the reason she's been getting fat, then?” Ven teased.

His eyes widened sheepishly. “Is she?”

“She  _feels_  heavier.”

“She always acted like she was starving...”

“Yeah... She does that.”

“She's  _really_  convincing,” Terra mumbled, weakly trying to defend himself. Ven snickered, and Terra looked at him from the corner of his eye.

“Sorry, I'm not laughing at you.”

He wasn't sure if he should believe that, but Terra was inclined to nonetheless. For his ego's sake.

“My parents are always telling me not to give into her, but she must have won you over,” Ven still seemed to be chuckling at his expense.

“Yeah... I didn't have any other experience with animals, I thought she wouldn't do that unless she wasn't getting enough food. But, uh...”

Ven was still laughing. It was a lighthearted, airy kind of laugh, and it was really nice to listen to. Still...

“You haven't answered,” Terra cleared his throat. “Whether or not I can visit. I understand, if it's weird.”

“Oh, I didn't?” Ven calmed, unconsciously mimicking him with a little cough. “Sure, you can come visit her. I don't have friends over very much.”

“And the fact that I'm... older... won't bother your parents?”

Ven shrugged. “You're just hanging out with my cat.”

“Ah, right.” He felt dumb for even thinking that might be weird, for Ven. Heck, he was probably  _weirder_  for thinking it'd be weird, at all.

“And I'm not going to be with my parents forever, you know. I'll be going to college in the fall, so...”

“Oh, really? Where to?”

“Not sure yet. I'm waiting to see where I'm accepted.” Something had occurred to Ven, and he felt a little bad about bringing it up.

“Cool... Good luck.”

“Thanks,” he almost chewed his lip. “I, uh... might be leaving town, depending on where I'm accepted...”

“I -” Terra glanced down at the cat carrier, and understood. “That makes sense. ... I should get as much time with her as I can, then, huh?”

Aurora was sticking a paw through the carrier and swiping at the air. Ven's heart turned over with guilt, which was a little silly. He was sure he shouldn't feel so bad when all of this was to bring his cat back to her real home.

“Yeah. You have my number, so just text me when you want to come and see her.”

“... Thank you,” Terra smiled down at her, then at Ven. “She's kind of been like a friend. Or a workout buddy. She's a fan of push-ups...”

Ven blinked, not understanding.

He elaborated, “She jumps on my back while I do them and falls asleep.”

Eyes went a little wide, Ven momentarily staggered by how adorable he found that image. “I'd  _love_  to see that.”

“Heh, I could show you at some point.”

“She hasn't done anything like that with me, yet. Sometimes if I'm practicing at home she likes to crawl into my hakama, though.”

It was like something had activated in Terra's expression. “You do martial arts?”

“Yeah, since I was little.”

He was becoming all the more enthralled with him. “I actually teach kendo, at a dojo downtown. Master Eraqus's dojo.”

“I know that dojo!” Ven exclaimed. “I almost went there! But, the one I go to is closer to where we used to live...”

“If you ever think of transferring, I could probably get you into a class, no problem.”

“Really?” Ven lit up excitedly. “I've heard the classes are good there...”

So good that there was a wait list. The prospect of having an  _in_  there was thrilling.

“They're great,” Terra, still relishing their common ground, almost boasted. “I might be biased, but I think it's one of the best in the city.”

“I'll definitely think about it! As long as it doesn't cost much more...”

“Oh, don't worry about it,” Terra dismissed. “Like I said, I would get you in. Sensei Eraqus is really reasonable, we could probably negotiate price if it's too much.”

Ven chewed his lip, loyalty to his dojo internally wrestling with  _really_  wanting to go.

“... Oh, we turn here.”

Terra adjusted the litter bag on his shoulder and turned, as indicated. Ven was almost jealous of how easy carrying so much seemed to be for him... but that was almost another point towards switching dojos. He was so  _strong_... Could Ven be that strong?

“You're really not that far from my place,” Terra remarked.

“Yeah, she wouldn't have wandered too far before begging someone for food.” Time to stop thinking about arm muscles and get back to the topic at hand. “I wonder why she picked your place...”

“Not sure. I didn't even have anything she could eat except whatever I could find in my pantry.”

"Then maybe she just liked you."

Terra stood a little straighter, kind of flattered. “You think?”

“I can tell she likes you  _now_.”

“Really?” It was uncanny, how honored a cat's fondness could make him feel.

“It's pretty obvious, don't you think?” Ven laughed.

“I haven't spent time with other cats. I just  _hoped_  she likes me.”

“I don't know anyone else whose shoulder she'll sit on.”

Terra grinned, and couldn't have possibly been more pleased. Ven's heartbeat quickened, and he liked that he could make him smile.

 

* * *

 

They wound up learning a lot about each other, as Terra spent more and more time over with Aurora ( _Snow White_ ). First and foremost, he found out that Ven was on the cusp of eighteen, in his final year of high school and applying to even more colleges than he'd first implied. He'd always loved kendo, and wanted to train hard enough to master the art. His parents had adopted Snow White as a surprise for him, one day – Ven didn't come right out and say it, but it was clear that he'd been very lonely without her.

Ventus didn't have a lot of friends. Whatever the reason for  _that_  was, Terra couldn't have guessed; he was kind and friendly, never boring, and had a competitive streak that was surprisingly good-natured.

He learned about Snow White (Aurora), too; she was barely a year old, this being the first winter she was really experiencing. She'd been an outdoor cat since always, but Ven planned on keeping her indoors now that the snow had fallen. Terra agreed that was probably wise. For one thing, she blended  _frighteningly_  well.

It wasn't all just learning about Ven, of course. Terra shared his family situation – that he and Aqua had practically been raised together by Eraqus, who'd fostered them right up until adulthood. All Terra had  _ever_  wanted to do was master kendo and teach, just like Eraqus, and that determination – along with a healthy dose of a dark attitude, when he was younger – had kept people at bay.

They meshed well, together. They were both pretty sure they could call the other 'friend', and after several weeks, Ven texted Terra with an offer to hang out at his place. His parents were out for the evening, and he thought they could make dinner and play with Snow White. Terra, never one to turn down favored company  _or_  food, agreed readily.

It actually made for the first time they were seeing each other with plans beyond 'Terra going to spend time with Aurora', although they caught snippets of time at the dojo. Ven had given in and transferred. Their class times didn't really line up, but they saw each other in passing.

He rang the doorbell, and Ven answered while he was still tying an apron around his waist.

“Hey,” Terra grinned at him, and a small part of him wanted to  _coo_  at the look of him in an apron. He just looked so... domestic.

“Hi,” Ven greeted him with a sunny expression. “You can go right through to the kitchen if you want, and I'll go find her.”

“Thanks.” He stepped inside, began removing his jacket and shoes. Ven was about to run into the living room, but paused abruptly.

“I left an apron my dad uses over a chair, if you want to protect your clothes,” he offered.

“Oh, yeah. I probably should.” Terra hung up his coat and watched Ven go to seek out a glimpse of white fluff.

Not unexpectedly, Aurora was curled up between the heater and living room curtains, sleeping soundly. Ven located her tail and very carefully crouched, drawing her out so slowly that she didn't stir until she'd already been pulled by several inches.

There was a little tinkling noise, accompanying them to the kitchen. Terra had just finished tying the apron (emblazoned with 'World's Best Dad', which made him a tiny bit flustered) and turned to take a look. Very soon after getting her back, Ven had gone out to buy her a collar... and also sprung for a crown-shaped tag engraved with 'Snow White', somewhat pointedly.

The bell that was now attached was a new, festive addition. Her eyes weren't quite open yet, apparently not fully aware that she was being carried.

The pair of them were  _adorable_. The smile spread wide over Terra's face.

“She jingles, now!”

“Yep. I never lose track of her,” Ven looked vaguely proud of himself for having thought of it. “Except when she's sleeping.”

“Clever,” Terra reached out to pet her, and melted inside when she yawned, showing off all her teeth. She trilled and shook her head when his hand was pulled away, jingling wildly.

Ven beamed. “I should probably put her back down...”

“Yeah, little hard to make anything when you're holding her...”

Glancing up at Terra, Ven read something in his face and suggested, “Do  _you_  want to hold her?”

He nodded immediately. Ven gingerly transferred the cat into Terra's arms, then went to wash off his hands. Cradling her affectionately, Terra stroked her head and murmured  _very_  quietly, “Missed you, Aurora.”

She started to purr. Doubtlessly, confirmation that she liked that name best. He scratched under her chin in reward.

Opening the fridge door, Ven removed a couple of cans of pre-made pizza dough. “I didn't have time to make my own dough. Hope that's okay...”

“I don't mind.” Terra kissed Aurora's head. Glancing up in time to see that, Ven felt his heart go all gooey inside. He kind of adored how much  _Terra_  adored  _her_.

Aurora wasn't quite so appreciative and began to wriggle restlessly, which signaled that it was time to put her back on the floor. Terra lowered her, allowing her to trot over to her food dish.

Ven cleared his throat and returned to the fridge, working on practically emptying it. He'd prepared basically every topping he could think of, just in case.

“So, pizzas?” Terra went to wash his hands.

“Yep, personal pizzas. I usually save making them for when I have friends over.” Which wasn't very often.

“Sounds good,” he grinned. “It's actually been ages since I've had pizza.”

Ven pretended to look shocked. “I didn't know you'd  _ever_  eaten anything unhealthy!”

“Pizzas can be healthy! Depending on what's on them...” Terra argued.

“I guess...” Setting out red and green peppers on the table, Ven looked to him. “Can you help me start cutting up veggies?”

“Sure thing.”

“Thanks!” Ven turned on the stove to start browning ground beef, and Terra grabbed a knife from the drawer. As they set themselves up, Aurora wolfed down as much food as she cared to before losing interest and trotted over to Terra with a curious little mew. She started to wind around his ankles, on his way to the table, and if he hadn't expected her to be there he might have tripped.

He started cutting up the green pepper, but paused long enough to smile down at her. “Think she's interested in helping.”

“Aw, Snowy.” Ven was  _almost_  won over, but deep down, he knew the danger she posed. “Just make sure she stays off the counter.”

She stretched up Terra's legs as tall as she could, pricking him with sharp, tiny claws. Even as they dug in, Terra laughed, accustomed to that by now.

“I've got an eye on her. You'd think she was begging for food, if she hadn't just eaten...”

“Just attention. Although, she won't say no to cheese.” Ven dropped meat into the skillet, which popped and crackled a little as it met the oil.

“Does she happen to understand rainchecks?”

Aurora dropped down once it was clear she wasn't going to be petted at the moment, returning to wandering around underfoot.

“If she does, she doesn't listen,” Ven noted, turning around and promptly stumbling over her. “Ah, careful!”

With a yowl, she streaked across the kitchen to cower under the kitchen island. Terra froze, alarmed.

“Everyone okay?”

A little shaky, Ven clung on to the counter to keep himself upright. “I think so...”

He put the knife down carefully, taking a few steps to look Ven over, not sure if he was expecting to see a burn or a bruise. “... She trip you?”

“I'm used to it...” He pulled himself upright, a little embarrassed now.

“Aurora...” Terra admonished, seeking her out.

Ven chose his words carefully. “Don't you think it'll be confusing for her if she's called different things?”

“... Maybe... but I can't get used to 'Snow White'.” And Aurora was better.

Sounding wounded, Ven protested, “What's wrong with Snow White?”

“Nothing!” He felt sheepish, and wanted to soothe that expression away. “She was just 'Aurora' to me, for ages...”

“Aurora's fine... y'know. For a different cat.”

“Agree to disagree... You're okay, right?”

“Yep,” Ven became earnest again. “Takes more than that to knock me down.”

That probably wasn't supposed to be so endearing, but it was. In order to resist pulling him into a completely inappropriate hug, Terra started to turn back to the counter.

“I'll get back to the vegetables...” He picked the knife back up to resume chopping.

Ven went to wash his hands again, and piped up conversationally, “Sensei says I'm improving already.”

“That's great!” In a weird way, Terra kind of likened Ven's success to his own. Maybe it was because he'd invited him to the dojo, or maybe just because he was invested in him as a person. “Sensei Eraqus is tough, so if he says you're doing well, he  _really_  means it.”

Ven seemed to glow with the praise. “He still doesn't want me moving up to the advanced class... Even though that was the class I was in at my other dojo.”

“The advanced class really steps things up. You have to pretty much have everything in the beginner and intermediate stages be second nature.”

“Maybe if I spar with  _you_  and win, he'll reconsider,” Ven suggested playfully.

“You could  _try_.”

“Don't underestimate me,” he laughed as he said it. Terra's heart swelled a bit.

“Tell you what – next time, we can walk to the dojo together and spar before classes.”

Ven's eyes went wide. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Terra grinned, and started on the onions.

“ _Awesome_.” Ven was a little starry-eyed with excitement as he turned back to the pan.

“I won't go easy on you.”

“You  _better_  not.”

As they were conversing, Aurora had finally crawled out of hiding, intrigued by the sound of a dripping tap. Ven hadn't fully closed it, and the noise was clearly worth investigating. With only a little jingle, she deftly leapt up to the counter to put her nose under the water. Terra noticed very belatedly.

“Ah – no...” he stopped chopping onions and hastily went to scoop her up. Aurora's little trill was somehow the unhappiest sound he'd ever heard.

It was so sad. And Terra couldn't deal with a sad kitty, his eyes already stung from the onions.

“Hey,” Ven chastised. “You know you're not supposed to be up there.”

Alarmingly, she was sniffing in the direction of the cooking meat and tensing like she planned on making a jump for it. Terra redoubled his efforts to contain her, on her way back to the floor.

“You already ate, that's not for you.”

She mewed sulkily, but occupied herself by knocking her head against Terra's knuckles. He supposed he could take a moment to pet her.

“I'll see if I can distract her,” Ven rinsed his hands off quickly, again. “Can you keep an eye on the meat?”

“Yeah, I can do that,” he agreed, then spoke more quietly to the cat. “I'm trusting you not to misbehave for a second.”

He checked on the beef before washing cat dander off his hands again, and Ven needed to contain a sound of glee. Terra had just sounded so  _serious_. He kind of loved it.

Opening a cupboard to grab the cat treats, Ven shook the back and was immediately flocked to. Aurora mewed in the same sort of frantic distress she used to defeat Terra with, reaching up his leg and pawing at the air.

“Hang on, hang on... Gotta get one out first...”

“Seriously, it's like she's starving...” Terra dried his hands off and gave the ground beef a quick stir, watching Ven work the bag open.

“That's 'cause she knows if she acts like that, someone might believe she hasn't been fed.”

Sheepishly, Terra laughed.

Ven held a treat out over her head, and Aurora stared up at it. Then she swayed on her back legs, making a few faltering grabs for it, and it was dropped into her open mouth in reward.

“Oh!” Terra was vaguely impressed. “I didn't know she could do that.”

“That's nothing. Watch this,” Ven lit up, pleased to have a new audience for his favorite trick. He held another treat above her head, making sure she was following it before dropping it into the wide front pocket of his apron. Her head bobbed curiously before she reached up his leg, batting at the bottom of the apron in bewilderment.

Terra laughed. “That's cute.”

Ven reached down, and lifted her with two hands into the pocket. Aurora shifted around in alarm before sniffing out the treat, burying her head in the pocket as well.

“Oh -” For less than a second, Terra was concerned. Then he was laughing more.

She only stayed long enough to crunch on the treat before leaping out again, shaking her head with a loud jingle. Ven grinned down at her fondly.

“She's very talented,” Terra commented, and he had an equally gentle look on his face. He was watching Ven, though, rather than Aurora.

“Do you want to try it?”

He was briefly surprised at the offer, but Terra couldn't resist. “Yeah – if that's okay.”

“One second.” Ven shook the treat bag to recapture her interest, and she did a complete one-eighty on her way back to him. He gave her a treat first to establish trust, then waved one right in front of Terra's stomach before dropping it in his pocket.

She blinked at the spot where it'd disappeared, lifting her front paws up a few inches uncertainly before dropping them again. Careful, Terra lifted her up and eased her into the pocket.

Once more, she went through the same panicked motions before locating the treat, accidentally biting against his stomach in her attempt to get it in her mouth.

“Ouch... C'mon, Aurora...”

Ven covered a snort of laughter, eyes practically sparkling as he watched. She successfully chomped down the treat, then rolled onto her side and seemed to settle down.

Terra blinked. “... Huh, she's not jumping out right away...”

“What? Seriously?” Ven leaned in, peering into the pocket.

She seemed quite content where she was, resting her back against the heat Terra was giving off. He was wide-eyed.

“... I can't move.”

He didn’t dare disturb her. Where Aurora decided to be,  _that_  was where she stayed.

Ven stared. “Oh no. I think this was her plan all along.”

“... I can keep stirring the meat from here, I think...” Terra had to reach, a little. He managed to grasp the wooden spoon with his fingertips, bringing it to his hand, and overturned the beef as much as someone could while also trying to remain stock-still. A huge grin crept onto Ven's face.

“You must be nice and warm...”

“I guess she thinks so.” Terra looked down into the pocket again.

“I'm a little jealous.” It slipped out, without Ven thinking about it, and he went bright red the second he realized he'd said it.

Terra froze, flustered. “You are?”

He probably meant, jealous of  _him_ , not of the cat...

And Ven was hoping he could play it off as exactly that. “Uh... yeah. She'd never do that with me!”

Oh. He was almost disappointed. For a second, he'd thought... “Maybe she will.”

“Once I'm  _your_  size,” Ven shook his head a little, fighting down his blush. “Anyway, that was supposed to distract  _her_ , not us.”

“Heh, right... I think the meat's about done.”

“Great!” Ven hurried over to grab a bowl. A fair amount of reaching and maneuvering still needed to be done, to actually get the meat into the bowl.

Unfortunately, she didn't stay curled up in the pocket for long, which was at least partially for the best. Terra could move again and resumed helping, chopping the onions up and dicing red peppers to go with the green. Once he was standing still again, Aurora substituted his feet for his stomach, and curled up on top of them instead. She actually seemed to fall asleep, at that point, only to be roused when Ven got out the can opener.

She wasn't convinced that the tomato sauce wasn't for her. The onslaught of mews tied both of their heartstrings in knots.

Grating cheese turned out to be the most time-consuming part of the job, though. Aurora showed an uncanny amount of determination when it came to stealing cheese, and there were only so many times they could successfully block her flying leaps to the counter. They had nearly a full bowl when she managed to squirm past them and bury her entire face in it, greedily chomping down on mozzarella, and they wound up having to start the process all over again. Ven stood separate from the counter, holding a bowl carefully still while Terra shredded the cheese directly over it, and Aurora circled like a shark underneath the entire process.

They put the bowl in the microwave, when they were done with it. Not to heat up, just to protect from  _her_.

Wiping down the counter, they finally rolled out their dough into small – but decent enough, in their estimation – pizza circles, and assembled their toppings. They constructed them on the pan, all ready to go into the preheated oven.

They were both pretty overloaded. Terra had been trying to mentally calculate calories throughout the whole process, and the dough was accordingly heavily laden down.

“Think that's good?” Ven took a step back, observing their masterpieces with one last sprinkle of mozzarella. Aurora wound around his feet, staring up at the counter.

“They _look_ good.”

Ven grinned, really anticipating the meal by now. The process took longer than he'd expected and they were both pretty starved. He sealed up the plastic bag they'd put the remainder of the cheese in. “Wanna put this back while I get these in the oven?”

Neither of them noticed the wiggle of Aurora's behind.

“Does it go anywhere specific?” Terra took the bag and went to the fridge.

“There's a drawer in th – Snowy, _no!_ ”

He grabbed for her too late. It all happened in a flash.

She leapt up, landing on the corner of the baking pan. It tipped off the counter, flipping to one side, and the whole thing – including the cat, herself – clattered to the floor. It hit the ground with a spray of food and a bolt of white fur, Aurora dashing at top speed from the room.

Terra nearly dropped the bag. Ven froze, in shock.

“ _Jeez_ -... Oh, man...” Eyes wide, Terra jolted into motion, trying to clean things up and cringing. “It's alright... Are you okay?”

Ven sounded almost winded. “Yeah, I-... the _food_ , though...”

“Yeah... Uh...” Terra slowed in his gathering of the ruined food, avoiding the smear of tomato paste. Ven slid down onto the floor in defeat.

Regret wrenched at Terra, feeling extraordinarily at fault.

“... Maybe we can order something?”

Ven spoke into his palm. “Ordering sounds good...”

Terra sank down next to him, placing a hand gingerly on his shoulder and trying to joke, “See, Snow White is a much better housekeeper. I still think she's Aurora.”

He managed to weak smile, when he looked up at Terra.

“Really... It's okay,” Terra stressed. “Think she gave us all heart attacks, though...”

“I'm just sorry I made you do all that work for nothing...” Ven sounded kind of crushed, and he shook his head.

“It's time with you. That's not nothing.”

All comprehension went out of Ven, and he stared. Terra cleared his throat, glancing away with a nervous laugh.

“... Is there a broom around?”

Ven blinked, a little pink. “Yeah, um, I can get that. Help me up?”

Terra stood, offering a hand down and lifting him with ease. Ven dusted himself off a little, looking down at the mess.

“So... I guess pizza's okay?”

“Yeah, pizza's good. We'll keep it out of cat-range.”

“I swear,” Ven sighed, “she's better behaved than this normally...”

“I probably have her riled up,” Terra decided, half-speaking in her defense. He went to look for some paper towel to mop up.

“Maybe next time, we can try making dinner at your place instead?” Ven suggested tentatively.

“Heh, that's probably safer,” Terra agreed. “Deal.”

All the embarrassment and surprise fell into the background. Ven smiled, pleased beyond words that he'd want to hang out even without the cat present.

So Terra really  _did_  like him.

Not – not like that, probably, but...

“For now, uh... Should we just order an extra-large?” Terra figured, combined, that it'd feed them both. And it would probably be enough.

They attempted to order with the exact same toppings, and by the time they'd finished cleaning up all the pizza wreckage, it'd arrived. The kitchen itself wasn't what took so long – it was the process of tracking down Aurora and cleaning the tomato sauce out of her fur that  _really_  did it.

 

* * *

 

Ventus turned eighteen just a couple of weeks before he received acceptance letters from colleges... And there were a  _decent_  amount of acceptances. He and Terra had become regular sparring partners, with even Aqua joining in on their play matches to help with his coaching. In hardly any time, Ven was good enough for the advanced classes, and he and Terra couldn't have been closer.

Which was why it was almost tearing Ven apart, deciding where to go. As badly as he wanted to stay close to his new friends, he also wanted to try living away from home. His parents were the protective sorts, and he really wished he could experience  _adulthood_  the way he undoubtedly would on campus.

Luckily, the solution seemed pretty obvious, to Terra.

Very timidly, and with a lot of conversational fumbling, Terra managed to ask Ven to live with him and Aqua. They'd already discussed it, he assured him. They'd arrange something, make a little room. With even more faltering, a lot of embarrassed throat-clearing, and even a little blushing, Terra proposed they could share the first floor, in whatever way Ven wanted.

But, most importantly, they could form a family. They all were awfully attached to Ven's cat, after all.

Before he could go on, Ven interrupted Terra without needing to use any words, and the message was a very enthusiastic _yes_.

He moved in at the very beginning of the summer, and it was universally acknowledged that if anyone owned the place, it was the cat. She went where she pleased, inside or out, and couldn't have been happier about it. Not to mention, she got very fat, very quickly.

At first, that was blamed on Terra, but he denied overfeeding her. The real culprit was never caught, but the cause became pretty clear... and, when she bore seven kittens (which Ven immediately named after seven dwarfs) everyone finally conceded that she was Snow White.

School started, work went on, and their little unit did indeed feel like a family.

All the kittens went to the neighbors. As it turned out, pretty much everyone in the area couldn't resist becoming a cat person, either. 


End file.
